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What was the last TV show you watched?

HanauMan

Practically Family
Messages
809
Location
Inverness, Scotland
Watched the first episode of Deutschland 86 last night.

It carries on from the previous series, Deutschland 83, and continues with the further adventures of the East German Stasi agents of Martin, Lenora and the disgraced Walter. It is 1986 now and the Stasi agents Martin and Lenora are in Apartheid South Africa selling West German arms to the Botha regime. East Germany is in dire economic difficulties (remember, the series is set just three years before the fall of the Berlin Wall) and has been all but abandoned by its Soviet Union ally. Nearly bankrupt, the main concern for the East Germans is getting Western currencies no matter how, even if it means dealing with political opposite regimes like the South Africans or employing Capitalist methods to obtain hard currencies.
Meanwhile, in East Berlin poor Walter is trying hard to get back into the inner circle of the East German secret services after his banishment in the last series. He is finally granted access to a team dealing with West German drug manufacturers, who pay the East Germans to test the West German drugs on East German patients, but has to work under a much younger female boss, Annett, whom he had actually hired in the first place. Annett is a junior intelligence agent, the new blood that East Germany is relying on, whose former lover fled to the West to become a writer.

In the background we see the slow collapse of the East German regime, bit by bit.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,737
Location
London, UK
Watched the first episode of Deutschland 86 last night.

It carries on from the previous series, Deutschland 83, and continues with the further adventures of the East German Stasi agents of Martin, Lenora and the disgraced Walter. It is 1986 now and the Stasi agents Martin and Lenora are in Apartheid South Africa selling West German arms to the Botha regime. East Germany is in dire economic difficulties (remember, the series is set just three years before the fall of the Berlin Wall) and has been all but abandoned by its Soviet Union ally. Nearly bankrupt, the main concern for the East Germans is getting Western currencies no matter how, even if it means dealing with political opposite regimes like the South Africans or employing Capitalist methods to obtain hard currencies.
Meanwhile, in East Berlin poor Walter is trying hard to get back into the inner circle of the East German secret services after his banishment in the last series. He is finally granted access to a team dealing with West German drug manufacturers, who pay the East Germans to test the West German drugs on East German patients, but has to work under a much younger female boss, Annett, whom he had actually hired in the first place. Annett is a junior intelligence agent, the new blood that East Germany is relying on, whose former lover fled to the West to become a writer.

In the background we see the slow collapse of the East German regime, bit by bit.


I'm really looking forward to watching this; I loved the 83 series. I gather they have already started working on Deutschland 89 for broadcast in 2021; it will be interesting to see if they decide to do one more series covering the challenges of reunification as distinct from the collapse of the Soviet East, which will obviously be the backdrop there. In a way, it reminds me of the This is England franchise. More glamorous, maybe, given it's about spies and high level espionage rather the kitchen sink drama, but there's the same sense of dual-layering of the minutiae of individual lives and the wider, national context.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,737
Location
London, UK
This past week's Gotham (good one!) and I think it was episode six of True Detective, current series. This is really good!

Hoping Gotham Series 5 makes it to Netflix UK very soon. This is going to be the last one, isn't it? If I recall correctly, it's the same people are then going to make a series about the even younger Alfred Pennyworth and how he got to be where he is in Gotham. Sean Pertwee is one of the stand-out stars of Gotham for me; I hope to see a lot more of him in future. Personally, I'd adore to see him as the Doctor, though he may or may not be wary of taking that on, stepping into his father's shoes.
 
Messages
10,343
Location
vancouver, canada
Started "True Detective" last night...just two episodes in and we like it so far. The lead actor M...Ali is very good. We shall hold judgement but perhaps the time flipping will just get annoying after a few more episodes.
 

MisterCairo

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,005
Location
Gads Hill, Ontario
Gotham Series 5 makes it to Netflix UK very soon. This is going to be the last one, isn't it?

Yup. They always said the show would end with a final scene of Bruce Wayne finally "Batman" standing on a building, full outfit. Shame it took only five seasons, but hey...

...just two episodes in and we like it so far. The lead actor M...Ali is very good. We shall hold judgement but perhaps the time flipping will just get annoying after a few more episodes.

We got used to it. Ironically, people who hated series Two, which did away with time jumps, looked at season one with favour, as it used time jumps. Now they are back to time jumps.

I really enjoyed season two, much better than one. Can't please anyone I guess!
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,737
Location
London, UK
Yup. They always said the show would end with a final scene of Bruce Wayne finally "Batman" standing on a building, full outfit. Shame it took only five seasons, but hey...

Yeah, I always liked that concept. In many ways, the same notion as Smallville, but arguably much more interesting in getting there. Batman is just a much more interesting character.
 

Ernest P Shackleton

One Too Many
Messages
1,219
Location
Midwest
Better Things. FX. episode 3. This was more like it. It may have been trying a little too hard, but I'm OK with that. It's what I hope to experience with this show. I'm not sure I like the scenes with Sam's father, but I can deal and go along to see where it might go.
 

The Jackal

One of the Regulars
Messages
210
The most recent episode of Supernatural.
The bulk of the episode takes place in an old timey town, complete with all the men walking around wearing fedoras.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

Julian Shellhammer

Practically Family
Messages
852
Part of a show called Blandings, based on the P. G. Wodehouse books about the Emsworth family at Blandings Castle.
English humor doesn't travel well into my American sense of funny, but what little I saw was enjoyable.
Jack Farthing, who plays scoundrel George Warleggen on Poldark, plays a Bertie Wooster type here, and the contrast is startling.
 

Edward

Bartender
Messages
24,737
Location
London, UK
Well, according to :https://planetradio.co.uk/free/entertainment/television/peaky-blinders-season-five/rding - the Peakies may well be back for more than just Season 5.... I could have lived with Season 4 being the end of the story as the climax felt like an "end of book" plot development, but as long as they keep the quality of writing up I'm very pleased it's only "end of book one". Also reported they're getting a video game.... https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a26901604/peaky-blinders-console-pc-video-game/

I've just finished watching the BBC's Press (starring one of the Peaky actresses, Charlotte Riley). A six-part drama covering competing newspapers - the broadsheet The Herald (a thinly veiled finctionalised version of The Guardian), and the tabloid The Post (a cypher for The Sun). A bit cartoonised, but nonetheless a nice depiction of the industry, also acknowledging its challenges in the internet era.

Also watched the latest series of Vic and Bob's Big Night Out - sheer, anarchic, comedy joy. Who knew there was still so much fun to be had out of watching gorwn men talking nonsense in silly voices and hitting each other with comedy props?
 

The Jackal

One of the Regulars
Messages
210
My Hero Academia.
I know this likely isn't the anime crowd, but I take my kids to a big 4 day convention in May every year, so I try to keep up with what's current so I'm not walking around completely clueless.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

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